Poisoned
by ClairvoyantDreamer1011
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia was trained to do exactly one thing - to be the greatest Celestial Mage the world will ever know; to surpass her ancestors. But all she ever wanted was freedom. Her wish came true when she ran away with her Guardian to Fairy Tail. However, when he starts to go rogue, Lucy begins to realize that freedom comes with a heavy price. Badass Lucy, here I come!
1. Chapter 1

Poisoned

Chapter 1

Hey, Clary here. I have decided to start a new story based on some weird ideas I've had lately. Okay, basically, this is going to be an AU of Lucy's life, every thing is more or less going to be the same, except Lucy is going to be a lot more badass. Who doesn't love a badass Lucy? Anyway, hope you guys like it!

*There will be some changes with Lucy's magical abilities since I think she is much more capable than Hiro Mashima portrays her as.*

* * *

 _Celestial Mages were of abundance in the old world, seeing how Celestial magic was one of the first known magic in history. Despite the large number of Celestial Mages, only a handful were capable of wielding a gold key, and even lesser had the ability of completing the Seven Spells of Mildean, the founder of Mildean Academy – a prestigious magic school that trained mages, especially Celestial Mages the arts of caster and holder magic - and the Celestial Mage of his time. He was capable of summoning five of the twelve zodiacs simultaneously, a feat that few in history could boast of._

 _But Mildean strived for more. A Celestial Mage's greatest strength and weakness lie in his keys. Being holder type mages, the moment a Celestial Mage's keys are taken - despite his vast magic container - without a medium to release that magic for attacks and defenses, one would be powerless. So he learnt and mastered holder type magic and expanded his magical energy so tremendously that he became the first holder type mage to be capable of performing caster type magic._

 _Not the type to hoard all his power to himself, Mildean used his magic and immense knowledge to create spells that could be used by Celestial Mages who wielded enough magical power to cast them._

 _The Seven Spells of Mildean were created with the bases of the most powerful elements on Earth – water, air, fire, earth, lightning, light and darkness. The Ultimate Magic of the Stars – also known as Urano Metria – was also created by Mildean shortly before his death._

 _But Mildean's dreams to train Celestial Mages who could be capable of using his Seven Spell was all but a dream. When the Mildean Academy suffered the biggest mass killing of Celestial Mages in history, more than a hundred skilled Celestial Mages were killed, including Mildean._

 _His works were hidden away by his widow for years. Until their daughter came of age. Anna Heartfilia, she was called. And she soon surpassed her father – Mildean Heartfilia – in skill and talent. Sensing the need for Celestial Mages to be capable of protecting themselves even without their keys or their magic, Anna introduced the Celestial Guardians to Celestial Mages all across the world. She became one of the first known mages to sign a contract with the Celestial Spirit King, to allow fallen Celestial Spirits to be reborn as Celestial Guardians._

 _(The contents of their contract are unknown until now. But it is said that the Heartfilia family will bear the burden of her contract till death.)_

 _Her strategy skills and vast magic capacity were recognized by the Magic Council. The councilors suspected Anna of possessing Mildean's books which taught Celestial Mages the true arts of Celestial Magic and also the Seven Spells of Mildean. They ordered her to give up her father's possessions with the exchange of a title of Wizard Saint, but Anna refused each time._

 _Anna Heartfilia disappeared after her mother's death. No sign of her was seen any more. But random bursts of magical energy would be felt by mages throughout the continent from time to time. Investigations were led, but no trace of Anna was ever found._

 _It was said the Anna Heartfilia aided in the first Eclipse Gate Project; in fact, she was the one who created it in the first place. Some say she was involved with the dragons; some claim that she was meeting with Zeref, the black wizard himself. But her motives for building the Eclipse Gate were unknown. She was found five years after the Eclipse Gate incident at a wooden hut near the borders of Alvarez. The Rune Knights found a newborn babe in her arms, peacefully sleeping in her dead mothers arms._

 _The babe grew up to be as skillful as her mother and her grandfather. Celestial Magic was soon believed to run strong in the Heartfilia bloodline, even stronger than in the Aguria family._

 _The Heartfilia bloodline ended with Lyanna Heartfilia, the great-grand-daughter of Anna Heartfilia. Her cause of death is unknown. Thereafter, the books of Mildean and the twelve golden celestial keys were scattered throughout the world, never to be found._

 _Currently, the golden keys have slowly been recovered by Celestial Mages around the world. However, without descendants of the Heartfilia bloodline, it is believed that no Celestial Mage will ever be capable of wielding all twelve keys at once, nor will they be able to cast the Seven Spells of Mildean again._

 _Sad to say, Celestial Magic has become a Lost Magic. The Age of the Celestial Mages has ended and Celestial Mages are going extinct._

* * *

' _Harder_! Put your strength into it, Miss Lucy!' Capricorn urged the young mage.

Flurries of kicks and punches were exchanged between the twelve-year-old female and her mother's spirit in the courtyard. From afar, Layla Heartfilia watched silently, smiling as she saw her daughter land quite a number of punches on Capricorn. She was improving tremendously.

'She'll be quite the Celestial Mage. You've done well, Layla.' A soft, feminine voice was heard. Layla smiled at her guardian, Lupus – the Wolf of the Eternal Heavens, and replied, 'She'll be a much better Celestial Mage than I was, Lu. She's already capable of summoning two spirits and sometimes even three spirits with magic left to spare. And Capricorn claims that she's mastering hand-to-hand combat skillfully.' The pride in Layla's voice was unmistakable.

Lupus morphed from her wolf form into a human and sat next to her master. Brushing her dark blue hair away from her eyes, she rested her hand on Layla's. 'It'll be her choosing soon. She won't be alone anymore, Layla.' Layla's smile faltered and she whispered, 'She will need a good and loyal companion, Lu. Especially after I –' She cut herself off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

'Capri! You _cheated_!' an outraged voice caught the two women's attention.

Lucy Heartfilia clutched at her side, wincing in pain. Her teacher looked at her and shook his head in denial. 'No, I did not, Miss Lucy.'

The young Celestial Mage stomped her foot childishly and argued, 'Yes you did! You said _left_ , but you kicked _right_!'

The celestial spirit smirked smugly, 'You were not seeing, Princess.'

'Yes I was! I watched you!'

Capricorn shook his head once again, tsking in disapproval. 'You were _watching_ , not _seeing_. Seeing is not watching, my dear child. One can forfeit his life if he does not _see_.'

Lucy stood up straight, ignoring the pain in her side and spoke determinedly, ' _Again_. We'll do it again.'

Lupus's eyes widened and turned to her master worriedly. 'Layla, she should not. She's still young and her wound – '

A hand stopped the guardian from speaking any further.

'She is strong, Lupus; stronger than I was at her age.' Layla's usually soft tone hardened. 'It is time for her choosing. We cannot prolong it any more. I sense my contract with the Celestial Spirit King is coming to an end.'

Lupus hesitated but nodded.

The guardian called out to Lucy, halting her and her celestial spirit's training. One look at the guardian's expression was all it took for the observant child to know. Lucy beamed at Lupus in glee. 'Is it time, Lu? Is it? Can we start now?'

Lupus sighed. Despite being Layla's child, she has none of Layla's composure or grace…though her determination and stubbornness was definitely a trait in the Heartfilia family.

'Remember Lucy, this isn't a game. Celestial Mages in the past have died summoning their guardians because –'

'Because they were overconfident of their magic capacities and summoned a guardian that was not compatible with their magical level,' finished the elated blonde somewhat exasperatedly. ' _I know_ , Lupus! You've repeated this a hundred times!'

Chuckling, the guardian replied, 'Well, then. You may begin.'

* * *

Lucy's expression turned somber. She stepped further away from Lupus and the goat spirit, and took in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and slowly pumped her magic outwards, allowing the tendrils of Celestial Magic escape her body.

Enchantments spilled out of the young mage's lips fluently. Ancient glyphs soon appeared in a circle surrounding the girl. It took little time for her magic to power the spell, causing the glyphs to grow brighter and sharper than before.

Layla continued to observe the scene, overcome with worry and fear. Her own master, despite not being a Heartfilia, was strong and nearly as capable as Layla was, but he had still perished after he tried to summon a guardian whose caliber was too high for his magic to cope with. She knew that her daughter was a powerful Celestial Mage, and if she continued her progress, Layla had no doubt Lucy would be the most powerful Celestial Mage in history, even more so than Mildean or Anna.

She prayed that her little girl would choose a strong, faithful guardian. Celestial Mages can only choose one guardian for the rest of their lives. Their bonds can never be severed; else the contract binding the guardian and the master will reap them both of their magic.

Layla had proposed some guardians that would have been fairly compatible with Lucy's character. The Ethereal Falcon would be a good choice; he was rumored to be one of the most favorable guardians in the celestial realm or maybe Leia, the Lioness of the Celestial Planes, she was loyal as well as powerful. As long as her daughter didn't choose that horrid fox guardian or the king of cobr –

The older mage's train of thoughts was interrupted as Lucy's chant came to an end. She watched as her daughter raised her arms and created a door to the celestial realm. _Oh, please tell me she chose a guardian as good as Lupus, please oh please. Heavens know she'll need her guardian when I'm gone._ Layla leaned forward eagerly to see who her little girl chose. Shading her eyes with her palm when the door started to shine even brighter than before, Layla prayed to whatever god was listening that Lucy would choose the right guardi -

'Wait a second, is that a _snake_?!'

Forget about her health condition, Layla Heartfilia was sure her heart had failed her there and then.

* * *

Do leave a comment! If you have any criticisms, please comment/review all the same. Thanks guys! Clary out.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's Chapter 2 for Poisoned. Hugs and kisses to everyone who read, reviewed, faved or followed my story! I love love love it when you guys leave a review. Your reviews always leave a smile on my face. So thank you. :)

Small heads up, the pairing is undecided for now. I'm aiming for CoLu (CobraxLucy) but pairings will change later on in the story due to certain reasons.

P.S. : Cobra will not be able to hear souls/read thoughts or whatever for now. There's a reason, though, so don't worry. I didn't leave it out accidentally. ;)

* * *

Lucy absolutely adored her guardian. Sure, he was a bitter, little thing, and he liked to bite her whenever she tried to touch him, but he was a _snake_! Mother shouldn't blame him if he likes to hiss and snap at people. Lupus kept saying that he's dangerous and poisonous, but that was a lie. Cobra wasn't poisonous; he was just…a little…venomous?

Putting all of that aside, Lucy didn't think he was all _that_ bad. He was snarky, rude and brusque most of the time and he acted as though he has a stick up his ass almost every day, but the twelve-year-old mage thought he was downright lovable. I mean, he actually _pouted_ when Mother frowned at Lucy's choice of guardian! (Okay, so _maybe_ snakes _don't_ pout…)

Plus, despite her guardian's mean exterior, he was actually pretty… _nice_. He treated her like a real human being, and talked to her as though she was an adult. Lucy liked the way he respected her opinions although he often scoffed at her _'humanness'_. Cobra was also the only one who _understood_ her. Not her spirits, not her mother...but Cobra. The grumpy, pissed-off, over-observant snake who could care less if Lucy had fallen off a cliff.(' _You're incorrigibly stupid, but not_ that _stupid to fall of a cliff, Blondie_.' 'I can hear you!' _'Duh, why else would I have said that?_ ')

He knew how much she hated feeling like some puppet, tied by invisible strings that controlled her every move. Worst of all, her parents were the puppeteers. Aquarius, Cancer and Capricorn were too loyal to her mother to understand what she felt like and her other spirits chided her to think about her situation more openly.

Cobra was the only one. But she was glad…glad that he was the one who understood; glad that she didn't have to endure it alone; glad that he was there with her…there for her.

The fact that his human form was pretty cute didn't hurt either. When Cobra first morphed into a human the second year after Lucy summoned him as her guardian, he was not what she had expected. Whenever Lupus morphed into a human, she took on the features that were similar to her natural form – her hair and eyes remained the same shade of blue as her fur in her wolf form and her ears were slightly pointed too.

But Cobra…besides his purple eyes and fangs, his human form was nothing alike his natural state. With gravity-defying maroon hair, tan skin and pointed ears, ('Why would a _snake_ have _pointed ears_? That makes absolutely _no_ sense!' _'Ahhh, shaddup, you little twerp.'_ ) Cobra was undeniably handsome.

The only weird thing was that instead of taking on an adult human form, he chose to be of the same age as his master whenever he morphed into a human.

Lucy had bugged him for weeks to know why he did that. Her smug guardian only smirked at her.

(Truth to be told, although Lucy loves her guardian's natural state, she can't deny that she likes Cobra's human form _more_. She doesn't really know why though.)

(And to be honest, Cobra enjoys the way his master's blush creeps up into her cheeks every time he winks at her a _little_ too much.)

But no matter how endearing and precious the snake guardian was to her, her parents, her spirits, the servants…everyone just wouldn't accept him! And she never knew why. They would look at Lucy and smile when they passed by her in the hallways, but the moment they saw Cobra curled up on her arm or neck, they would scowl and glare at the guardian.

Lucy had gone into a fit of rage when she heard what they said about Cobra behind her back. But her guardian told her that he was used to it. _Used to it?_ How could he possibly tolerate those…those _vile_ words they said?

 _'_ _They called you a monster, Cobra! A monster that was too filthy for me. How could they say that to you? You're not a monster or a murderer and I don't know why they're even saying tha – '_

 _'_ _Look, Bright Eyes, there's a reason why I'm a snake spirit okay? Stuff like this has been happening since a few decades ago. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself…Just – Just don't believe what you hear, I'll tell you everything when I'm ready. Promise me, Lucy.'_

The moment she saw the way he tried to smirk and brush off what they had said to him as nothing important…she knew they had hurt him. They had hurt him so badly that he was retreating back into that shell she tried so hard to break.

She felt his hurt, his pain, his anger….and she _hated_ that she couldn't do anything to comfort him.

Maybe that was the reason why she'd suddenly exploded when she heard them call Cobra a monster again. She didn't remember what exactly had happened but when Aquarius was summoned by her mother to calm her down, even the usually violent mermaid was shocked – and somewhat afraid – by the overwhelming burst of magical energy coming from the young blonde. Cobra had nearly peed his pants laughing when he saw the servants' terrified faces.

Let's just say there was no more talk of Lucy's favorite reptile behind her back after that incident.

After all, snake charmers are always more possessive of their snakes than their snakes are of them. And young Lucy Heartifilia was dubbed 'Snake Charmer' right after that incident. (Along with some other nicknames like Scary Lucy and She-Demon, but that's normal.)

* * *

'You call that a punch? I barely felt that –'a certain maroon haired male taunted, smirking when he heard an annoyed growl from his master…only to be kicked in the gut less than two seconds later by said master. 'Oof!'

'If you were paying as much attention to the fight as to gloating,' Lucy panted, inwardly cheering at her victory, despite being thoroughly exhausted. Capricorn's training was excruciating, but Cobra's was worse. 'Hellish' seems to be the only word capable of describing the snake's torture. 'You would have won.'

Groaning at the pain in his abdomens, the guardian coughed out, 'Guess your training with that old goat really paid off.'

Giggling, the blonde Celestial Mage – now sixteen years old – reached her hand to her guardian to help him up. She squeaked when he suddenly pulled her down onto his chest. Laughing as she moved to straddle his chest, Lucy leaned down to whisper in the snake guardian, eliciting a rarely seen grin on his face.

His elation quickly turned to disbelief.

'Wait, are you sure?' He asked, using his hand to tilt her chin towards him as he searched her brown eyes.

The blonde's gleeful expression was replaced by a serious one.

'He threatened to sever our bond, Cobra.' The said man's breath hitched in his throat. He hissed coldly, 'He _wouldn't_.'

Lucy's eyes flashed briefly with pain and anger. 'You know he will. He wants to _sell_ ' she spat, 'me to the Junelle family the day I turn seventeen.'

Her guardian growled as he wrapped his arms around his master possessively. Burying his face in her neck, he whispered, 'Then why tonight? _Your mother_ – '

'My mother is dead. She has been for two weeks now. There's no changing the past.'

'But this is your _home_. I won't have you _leave_ it because of me.'

A hollow laugh followed his statement.

'This _was_ my home, it's my prison now. My mother, my father…they are my past. It's time to leave the past behind Cobra.' She smiled softly at him. His heart leapt into his throat and he smiled back at her, surprising himself. Cobra was never one to smile, it made him feel too vulnerable…but with Lucy, he wasn't afraid to show her how vulnerable he was. It's been four years after all, and despite how unwillingly he was to admit it at first, Cobra – no, _Erik_ – was ready to _trust_ again. And maybe even learn to _love_ again. After Cubellious –

No, love definitely wasn't a door Erik was ready to open just yet.

 _Flick._

'Oi! Why the hell did you do that, ya little brat?!'

'You were ignoring me! And don't call me a brat, old man!'

'Who you callin' old?! You wanna go, brat?!'

'Bring it on, grandpa!'

'THAT'S IT!'

Ah, young love. Perhaps a little one-sided…and rather unrequited and tragic… But their adventure is only beginning.

Heartbreak, jealousy, tragedy…those have yet to come. But for now, let's give these two a break, because sooner or later, they'll be breaking more than just their hearts.

* * *

How was it? It's a little fast-paced but I hope you guys liked it! (I won't drag the story about just Cobra and Lucy for too long because there will a major twist in this story very soon. ;) )


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I was super inspired after reading your amazing reviews. Big thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favored this story! It means the world to me.

 _An Amber Pen : Your reviews were the push I needed to update as soon as possible. So thank you so much! :) I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter!_

 _brendatorres113 : hehe, hope I updated fast enough. X) Enjoy this chapter!_

 _CoSmO333 : I love this Lucy too! If you're interested in reading other fanfics on badass/more powerdul Lucy I really recommend 'The Girl With The Celestial Tattoos' by Gothic Rain. It's one of the best fanfics I ever read regarding powerful Lucy. It's not complete yet though, but I hope you'll like it as much as you like this story! :)_

 **Warning : Things are going to get crazy from here. Get ready for some tears, confusion, hurt and anger. Mwahahaha...**

* * *

Voices.

Footsteps.

They were getting closer.

But the blonde girl running away from them wasn't fazed at all. In fact, a grin was plastered to her face as she leaped over a dumpster in an alleyway. She looked behind her and saw her pursuers cursing her as they lost sight of their thief.

It has been three months since she ran away from her prison. Three months of delicious freedom. Two months of stealing and robbing. One week of starving. Five days away from leaving the wretched town they were staying in. Three days journey to reach the guild of her dreams.

Lucy laughed merrily and sprinted to a run-down motel. She ran up the stairs and slammed the door to her temporary shelter open. A hideous odor greeted her nose but she was too high on her success to care.

'Cobra! I got the money! We can leave –' her voice faltered as she realized how quiet the room was. Normally, her snarky partner would have pounced on her or tried to prank her with one of his new tricks. But now…the silence was unnerving.

A chill went up Lucy's spine and her mind went on auto-pilot. Her hand reached for her keys and sent a warning to her spirits through their bond. Her keys glowed dangerously in response. They didn't like how distressed their master felt.

 _Shuffle._

A bright glob of magical energy slammed into the wall on Lucy's left which was where the noise came from and she heard an audible groan. Turning to look at the intruder, Lucy transferred another batch of Aquarius's destructive water magic to her hands and was ready to give the unfortunate fellow a hell of a fight.

But when she turned around, she refused to acknowledge the sight of her best friend lying on the floor. She gasped and rushed over to him, disbelief written in her eyes. Why didn't he dodge? She knew he was so much stronger than that, so why did he let himself get hit? Why didn't he –

'I can hear you,' he whispered, a broken look on his face. Lucy glanced at him as she released an orb of Celestial Magic to heal her partner. Looking at how broken and scared Cobra was, Lucy swore she felt her heart crack. She raised her hand to cup her guardian's face to reassure him, only to be met with a flinch.

Lucy's eyes flashed with hurt as she slowly lowered her hand. She forced a smile and tried to make light of the situation, 'Of course you can hear me, you dumbass – '

' _No,_ Lucy,' he snarled dangerously, startling the blonde. 'I can fucking _hear_ your thoughts and I can see _your goddamn soul._

'And I know you're afraid of me.'

Lucy shook her head vehemently. 'No, Cobra, I'm afraid _for_ you. What is _happening_ to you? Is this some kind of guardian –'

'No. I was … I was born like this.' He said quietly, finally raising his head to look at her. Lucy smiled softly at him, resting her hand on his knee – a gesture of comfort and reassurance. Cobra blinked at the action, strangely moved. He shook his head and shakily continued.

'I – I promised you that I would tell you everything one day…But at the time, _I didn't even know anything_ ,' his voice cracked and the sight of her usually sarcastic guardian exposing his most vulnerable state to Lucy made something in her snap. She _swore_ to protect him as he would to her, and Lucy's hand tightened into a fist as she struggled not to break down in front of Cobra when he needed her.

Cobra, oblivious to his master's internal turmoil, breathed in deeply. 'Your mother and her guardian never told you…but a guardian's life is tied to his masters.' Confusion welled up in Lucy. Layla did tell her that, so did Lupus, so why – 'Please, just listen. I know you think you know _everything_ about guardians, but you _don't_.

'You remember the time when Layla died?' Lucy flinched at the memory and nodded. 'Now, did you remember seeing Lupus at all during that period?'

The Celestial Mage's eyes widened. She tried desperately to recall seeing a flash of blue hair or a swish of a tail around a corner, but she couldn't remember seeing her mother's loyal wolf guardian _at all_.

'Your mother told you to cherish your guardian's life as well as your own…because a guardian and its master's lives intertwine more closely than you think. The moment the master _dies_ …'

' _So does the guardian_ ,' finished Lucy, aghast at what her guardian just told her.

'Yes, and vice versa. Whenever a guardian dies, we lose our memories of the past when we regenerate in the spirit realm. But if a guardian defies or purposely breaks the contract binding the guardian and its master, the memories resurface much faster than the average guardian's.'

Cobra glowers at his hands and spat out, 'Your servants, your parents, your spirits…They all called me a monster,' a bitter chuckle escaped his lips. 'They don't know how true they were.'

He looked at Lucy in the eye and said, 'I killed my own master.'

Lucy's breath hitched but she didn't move away.

'Not just him. But a ton of other masters too.' Seeing the blank, 'so what' expression on his master's face, Cobra sighed. 'I _murdered_ a _child_. The same age as you were when you summoned me. I _killed_ her in cold blood just so I could escape back to the spirit world and regain my memories.

She had your middle name, you know. _Ashley_. But I called her Ash. Even when I wrapped my claws around and choked her…I still called her that.'

Before Lucy, perhaps the only other master he had come close to loving was Ashley. Poor, innocent, naïve Ashley, with her auburn pigtails and sea blue eyes and carefree smile. He could still picture the way she smiled with her two front teeth missing.

He should feel satisfaction at the way Lucy's hand on his knee twitched and how anger and hate bubbled up in her soul. After all that was how the old Cobra would have felt. But now, Erik was stopping the monster inside him. Cobra could hear Erik screaming at him to _stop_.

He could hear Erik screaming at him to _stop scaring Lucy_ ; _to stop pushing the only master he ever loved away._

But Cobra couldn't stop. He had gotten too close to Lucy; fallen too deep for the dumb blonde to ever pull himself out. Lucy was supposed to be the last master he killed to get his memories back. Lucy was supposed to die a year after summoning him. Lucy was supposed to _hate_ him when he bullied and taunted and teased her. Lucy was supposed to _hate_ him now so that he could kill her easier.

 _Lucy wasn't supposed to be his best friend._

'You were supposed to die too.' He confessed, waiting for the hatred to hit him like a freight train. 'I gained my old powers back because you trusted me. If you were to die now, I could have gotten my memories back. And Cubellious would return to me.' His voice cracked as he remembered her face when they took her away from him when he became a guardian. ' _A guardian should never be more attached to anything or anyone else other than their masters,' they said._

He expected her to slap him and walk away. He expected her to hate him with every fiber of her being.

He didn't expect her to hug him.

Warm, salty liquid rolled down his face.

He stared at the blonde who was burying her face in his neck in shock and affection and self-loathing and guilt.

'I understand.'

'No, you don't.' He growled.

Her chocolate eyes flew to meet his indigo ones and she glared at him hard.

'You think _I don't know_ how it feels like when someone you love is taken away? You think _I don't understand_ how gut-wrenchingly _lonely_ it was when everything you ever wanted was out of your reach? _You think I don't understand your pain_?'

Cobra was silent.

'I would have willingly _died_ for you if it meant you'll be able to get Cubellious back. If you had just told me, _I would have killed myself_ so you'd able to reunite with her, you big, stubborn _idiot_!' she said.

The wall he'd held up for so long crumbled away as he heard her soul sing in sorrow, hurt, pain, anger and love.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and poured everything out.

All the regret and loathe he held for himself came rushing out like a waterfall.

They stayed like that, wrapped in the other's embrace for what felt like forever.

And finally, _he_ was ready.

He was finally ready to let go of his past like she did three months ago when they escaped from the Heartfilia Mansion.

He buried his face into her beautiful golden hair and whispered.

 _'_ _My real name is Erik.'_

* * *

So what do you think? Like I said, this story is going to move at a very fast pace.

Just so you don't get confused, Cobra has two sides to him - one is the snarky, rude, crass Cobra that we all know and love; and the other side that he keeps hidden is Erik.

I'm not going to give any spoilers about why he hides Erik or what type of person Erik is...so let's see what theories you guys can cook up, huh? (Just kidding XD)

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE : By the way, all guardians lose their memories after they 'die'. Those who broke a rule in the master-guardian contract will have their memories resurface faster because in Chapter 1, it was said that Celestial Guardians are actually fallen spirits (meaning they are spirits which have broken their contract with their masters illegally - kinda like Loke's situation), so their memories of their past are most likely extremely gruesome or painful.**

 **P.S. : Do check out my other stories and one-shots, Mercy (on-going NALU AU fic), She Used To Be Mine (Angsty one-shot), Breathe Again (LALU one-shot), Liar (ANNALOGIA Angst/Romance one-shot) and Appendicitis (NALU Sexy British Natsu/Lawyer Lucy AU one-shot)**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, guys, I'm back! I am so sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter will make it up to you all. For everyone who followed, reviewed and faved this story, thank you so much, your reviews never fail to put a smile on my face.

 _P.S. : For any CoLu fans out there, do check out my entries for CoLu Week 2016 if you've got time. I'd love to have some feedback on them. :)_

* * *

She woke up the next day to find maroon hair tickling her cheek. Lucy smiled softly and raised her hand to sift through her Guardian's hair, as he continued to snore peacefully next to her.

The moment her fingers touched his scalp, she felt him stiffen before relaxing into her touch. She raised a skeptical eyebrow. Was he still asleep? That was weird, the grumpy Guardian was usually a light sleeper. She continued to play with Cobra's hair until he finally opened a lazy eye to glare at her.

'It's considered weird to touch someone without their consent, kid,'

Lucy snorted. 'Don't act as if you don't like it. I know you've been awake the whole time,'

Cobra hummed, neither in agreement or in denial of her statement, before he stretched and sat up. 'So, aren't you supposed to be dragging me to that weird guild tomorrow?'

Lucy blinked. Realization dawned onto her and she scrambled out of her bed.

'It's _tomorrow_?'

Cobra rolled his amethyst eyes at his master. 'To think that you were the one excited about this,' he drawled as he watched his master fly around the room, stuffing their meager possessions into a bag. 'How could you not know when we're going to that freaky guild?'

The blonde Celestial Mage ignored her partner as she checked the entire room again, making sure that she didn't leave anything behind. God forbid her from leaving a clue for her father's trackers to find. They had barely escaped from those nasty bastards the last time they caught up to her and Cobra. Sure, she could have overpowered those weak wannabe mages easily, but she still didn't feel comfortable exposing herself to the magical world just yet. After all, the Heartfilia's are a strictly non-magical, normal, upper-class family with absolutely no connection to Celestial Magic, or so the world thinks. And Lucy would like to keep it that way until she joined a guild.

 _Being with a group of people is much safer than venturing out alone. Strength lies in numbers, Lucy, despite how strong you are, don't you ever forget that._ Layla's voice echoed in her mind.

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts and concentrated on transporting their belongings to the spirit realm for storage. She held her right hand in front of her and pictured a small stream of celestial energy flowing from her core to her fingertips, and towards her traveling bags. Cobra continued watching her from his spot on the bed, observing her every move. In an instant, the bags were shrouded in a bright light and disappeared in a flash.

Lucy lowered her hand and let out a soft sigh.

'Not bad, considering the fact that you didn't say the enchantment out loud,' her dark companion remarked from the side. Lucy beamed at his subtle praise. 'However, the time taken to complete the transportation of your bags to the spirit realm was too slow and you have wasted more energy than necessary.'

The Celestial Mage slumped, and she groaned. 'Does that mean I'll be teleporting rocks again? You know how much Aquarius _hates_ it when I suddenly teleport rocks into her territory,'

Cobra stood up and made for the door, a smirk one his lips. 'That's because you're not picturing _where_ you're going to store those rocks properly. That is also _exactly_ why you're going to be teleporting _boulders_ instead of rocks today as well,'

'Why, _just why_ did I appoint you as my Guardian again?'

'Because you love me. Now get going, kid or you'll be hauling trees around again,'

* * *

'Fifty-one.'

Grunt.

'Fifty-one.'

Grunt.

'Nope, it's still fifty-one if you don't stop borrowing Taurus' strength,'

'F-Fine.'

'Fifty-two...No, wait, make that fifty-one. Seriously, Lu, stop moaning. Just forty-nine more times of carrying a tree while doing squats and you'll be done!'

'I hate you,'

'Fifty-two. Stop talking, kid.'

* * *

Rocks of different sizes sailed past her head as she formed a barrier out of water in front of her upper torso. Sweat trickled down her face as she struggles to focus on the task on hand. Pouring her magic slowly yet steadily out of her body, Lucy pants slightly as she concentrates on maintaining her water barrier and teleporting as many rocks as possible to the Celestial Realm. All while trying to avoid sending any more rocks to a certain mermaid spirit's territory. (She doesn't think she's doing a good job on the last task, judging by how loud Aquarius was screaming in her ear.)

Cobra sits languidly on a boulder and sighs at the sight of his Master. 'We can stop if you want to,' he calls out while flinging multiple projectiles at the blonde mage with superhuman accuracy. 'We've been at this for half an hour already, Lu. I can practically hear Aquarius' screeching from here.' He receives a small grunt in response. The maroon-haired man shrugs and continues hurling rocks at his companion.

'And just where the hell did that fucking boulder come from, you jackass?'

'What a potty mouth you have, Miss Heartfilia!'

'All the better to rip your throat out with, dear Cobra!'

'Keep that up and I'll send a goddamn mountain your way, kid,'

* * *

Lucy crumpled to the ground, her muscles screaming in protest as she forces her body to stretch. Training was hard today, not to mention the fact that Cobra decided to ask both Capricorn and Taurus to train her again.

Capricorn alone was a nightmare. He would push her to her very limits while testing her intelligence all the while. Despite all that, Lucy loved training with him. Unlike Cobra who would train her physical and mental strength, Capricorn would give her a scenario in which she was being ambushed, attacked, kidnapped and so on. Considering her situation and the fact that she would be joining a mage guild, Capricorn's lessons were 'of utmost importance' - as how the goat spirit eloquently says it - as they gave her an idea of how an actual fight would go.

 _'You are ambushed by two mages in a dense forest. Cobra is an S-Class mage, specializing in Poison Magic as well as Soul-listening Magic while I'm a B-Class mage with Plant Magic from an enemy guild. What would you do?'_

 _Lucy envisioned the imaginary surroundings, a plan forming in her head. Both Cobra and Capricorn slowly encircled her, blocking off any paths of escape. Lucy faced Cobra, ignoring her spirit while she summoned Taurus under her breath. In the blink of an eye, her destructive bull spirit appeared, charging at Capricorn with his ax held in front of him. 'He's a Plant Mage. Tension Max and Rampage combo. Overpower him and keep him distracted.' Lucy commanded mentally through her link with Taurus. 'Yes, ma'am!'_

 _Looking at Cobra, she quickly reinforced her mental barriers. Taurus and Capricorn's battle was going fierce on the other side. Taurus was doing a good job of keeping Capricorn at bay. Despite the lack of 'plant magic' in the battle, the battle was quickly tilting to Taurus' favor. However, Lucy could tell that Cobra would be a bigger issue._

 _Her Guardian's lips curved into a malicious smile as he lunges at her, ruthlessly attacking her with blows and kicks that no normal mage could have been able to counter. Lucy huffs as she blocks a kick to her head._

 _Their fight goes on for seemingly hours as both parties are engaged in a brutal yet somehow elegant dance to the death. Neither side seemed to pause for breath as a flurry of physical - and occasionally mental - blows are exchanged. It was almost beautiful, in a way._

 _However, Capricorn noted that his mistress was spending more energy than he had expected. She looked as though she was struggling in her fight against Cobra. And not because of the lack of strength or skill on her part, no. Capricorn knew first-hand that Lucy was nearly if not just as powerful and tactful as her vicious guardian. Before he could ponder on the issue, he was suddenly forced into the ground as streaks of water magic wrapped around his torso tightly and anchored him to his spot, disabling his movements to allow Taurus to fully overpower the goat spirit._

 _Hearing the confusion and surprise in his 'partner's mind, Cobra made the mistake of glancing at Capricorn. The indistinct 'swish' sound of a pair of scissors caught his attention and made him swivel around to face the culprit standing behind him. Cobra's eyes widened as he realized the number of spirits Lucy had called upon when they were busy fighting. He turned to face his Master only to realize that her crab spirit had severed several nerves in his body, incapacitating him completely. A swift Lucy Kick to his back signaled the end of their spar, as he fell face-first onto the ground, unable to move a single muscle._

 _As soon as Cobra hit the ground, Lucy bid a quick 'thank you' to her spirits and rushed to her fallen partner, twin orbs of water magic in her hands as she borrowed the Celestial Water from Aquarius' lake. A few moments later, a soft sigh from Cobra told her that he was fine - well, as fine as a person who just got several nerves severed. She stood up and grinned brightly at her favorite Guardian, only to receive a pathetic groan in response._

'I can't believe I got beaten by a crab,' Cobra's voice snapped Lucy out of her daze. 'It doesn't mean you're better than me, though,'

The blonde let out a small smile as she continued to stretch her muscles, doing her best to ignore the ache in her limbs. 'But you've got to admit , I _am_ getting better, aren't I?'

Cobra smirked. 'Physically, yes. But, magically? Not so much. You summoned two Zodiac spirits - one offensive and one defensive - and you powered their attacks without faltering for a good 30 minutes while fending off a skilled mage in hand-to-hand combat. But, that is to be expected, considering your magic capacity. What you could have improved at is controlling the amount of magic you're releasing. You summoned a Zodiac spirit without an enchantment and that cost you more energy than what was worth,'

Lucy opened her mouth to protest but was promptly cut off by another voice. 'Cobra is right, Lucy,' Capricorn interjected from her side, startling the young lady. 'Summoning a spirit without saying the proper enchantment is highly dangerous. We all know that you are more than capable of performing such a feat, but that is only when you are not distracted. You know very well the consequences of summoning a spirit without concentrating on opening the gate to the Celestial Realm,'

The mage sighed and nodded her head. 'One could get sucked into the vortex between realms if she does not open the proper gate to the intended realm. Yes, Capri, I know. But both you and Cobra have been training me in transporting objects to and fro the spirit world without using enchantments! Hell, I've been transporting dozens of rocks per minute to the Celestial Realm and back without a glitch, I don't see why I can't do the same for you guys -'

'That's where you're wrong, kid,' Cobra cut in, annoyance clear in his violet eyes. 'What are your spirits to you, Lu?'

Lucy glared at her partner. 'They're not 'what's -'

'Exactly. They're not 'what's, they're 'who's, am I right?'

The blonde nodded. 'Meaning, that your spirits are people, just like you. Would you so carelessly project a human to a foreign realm without a proper enchantment?'

'No! That would be -'

'Dangerous? Yes. Highly so. In fact, this human could be in risk of being sent to the wrong universe, if the spell-caster is not concentrated in his task of opening the right gate to the right world. Why would you risk sending your spirits to some alien realm if you won't do that to a fellow human?'

Lucy lowered her head in shame, her hand immediately going to her keys, caressing Cancer's key in guilt. _I'm so sorry, Cancer._ The crab spirit's key glowed softly in response, causing a small hum to pass through Lucy's fingers, silently comforting the distraught mage.

Capricorn nodded at Cobra's explanation and cleared his throat. 'Well, with all that aside, I must commend you for a job well done in handling both Cobra and I in your fight just now. Your combat skills have improved much in the past few months and your tactical skills are getting sharper as well. Choosing close-range combat when dealing with a Poison Mage and strengthening your mental barriers against Soul-listening Magic, then attacking said mage with Cancer...I must say you've grown a lot, Lucy. Layla would be proud.'

Lucy grinned at her spirit and gave him a small hug, surprising him. 'Thanks, Capri. I couldn't have done this without you, you old goat,' she mumbled into his suit, causing the goat spirit to chuckle and pat her head.

'Well, it is getting dark, and I have been out in the human world for far too long even with Cobra's help in sustaining my life force here. Until tomorrow, little one,'

'Goodbye, Capri. Have a good rest,' Lucy whispered to the spot where her spirit vanished in a small burst of golden sparkles.

Turning back to her dark-skinned companion, she yawned and moved to her tent which he had set up during her talk with Capricorn. 'Goodnight, Cobra, looks like today wore me out more than I thought,' she said as she passed by the snake Guardian, stopping to give him a small peck on his cheek before heading to her tent. 'Don't stay up too late, Erik.'

She didn't notice the fierce blush spreading across Cobra's face as she called him by his true name.

She also didn't notice the way he smiled as he touched the spot she kissed with his hand.

'Goodnight, Lu.' he whispered, as his master disappeared within the flaps of the tent.

* * *

The next day, after hours of traveling by train to the quaint little town of Magnolia, the two mages stood before the huge mahogany doors of one of the greatest guild in Fiore.

'You sure this is the place?'

'Yep, the guild name is on the top, see?'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah, why?'

'Because I can hear nothing but screams coming from the inside of that building,'

'That's just 'cause your ears are more sensitive,'

'No, seriously, Lu, I can literally hear people begging for mercy from a freaking _demon_ ,'

'You're exaggerating,'

'Lu. Lucy. Oi, Heartfilia, where do you think you're going? You're actually going in? There's nothing but destruction and murder going on beyond those doors, Lu! LUCY!'

'...'

'Oh, you've gotta be fucking kiddin' me,'

* * *

So, whaddaya think? Love it, hate it, pass? Don't worry, I know this story seems to be progressing rather slowly, but on the bright side, you guys got to see Lucy in action! Plus, things are going to be speeding up now since they're at the guild already, so to those who can't wait for the grand entrace of our protagonists, do not fear, I swear I won't waste another few months writing a filler chapter. ;)

By the way, hohoho and a Merry Christmas to everyone! I am currently working on a Nalu one-shot for Christmas this year, so be on the lookout for it, m'kay? Remember to read, review, follow and fav, guys! Love y'all! Clary out.


	5. Chapter 5

And here, I present to you, Chapter 5 of Poisoned! Enjoy!

A huge thank you to CoSmO333, PeyPeyPeyton22, An Amber Pen, Guest, and MylifeisCANDY for reviewing! Thank you guys so much, your reviews made my day! And also to everyone who faved/followed this story, thank you for your support! You guys are awesome. :)

* * *

'What the - '

Immediately, Lucy's hands were raised above her head in a defensive position as a massive wooden table sailed towards her. 'Lend me thy strength, Taurus,' she mentally enchanted as light green orbs of magic traveled up her arms in seconds.

 _Crack!_

Every pair of eyes in the guild turned to the source of the resounding noise of wood cracking against flesh. Many gasped as they took in the utterly destroyed wooden table lying in splinters in front of a lone figure; some blinked in disbelief and astonishment as they realized that the person who had so easily broken the heavy mahogany table with just their bare hands was, in fact, a petite blonde woman; and some others were screaming profanities along the lines of 'are you fucking insane, woman?'.

Lucy glared at her Guardian. 'I had it perfectly covered and you know it, Cobra!' she hissed, slightly embarrassed for being coddled by the maroon-haired mage in front of her dream guild.

(And yes, he coddles her. Very often, in fact, even if he doesn't admit it. _'Lu, drop that sword you'll hurt yourself!', 'Lucy Heartfilia, you let go of that boar right this instant!', 'You could have gotten hurt, ya little brat! What were you thinking strangling a Wyvern?', 'That whip isn't a tool, you moron!'_...And other countless times. For the record, she never had serious injuries other than the usual bruised ribs and _occasional_ broken bones.)

Cobra glared right back at the blonde mage. What was she thinking? She could have gotten hurt, or worse! No, what was he thinking when he agreed to join Fairy Tail with her? This guild was obviously, undoubtedly off-their-rockers insane. Screaming humans and demonic, well, demons and flying tables all in one day? Nope. Cobra was not ready for his Master to endure this...inhumane torture!

'Lucy, that table was flying at you at 89 miles an hour, and in an optimum position to severely fracture your skull. If you had activated Taurus' magic one millisecond too late, you would be lying in a bloody mess right now,' he ranted. Lucy rolled her eyes.

'Well, that didn't happen and I'm fine so stop-' she stiffened, swiveling around to face the guild members. She tilted her head and took a deep breath as her eyes roamed the guild hall before fixating on one spot on the second floor, right next to where a short, dwarf-like man was standing.

She walked forward, her eyes narrowed in suspicion and curiosity. A few skeptical mages blocked her path but she easily pushed past them, ignoring their shouts and threats, as she made her way to the stairs which led to the second floor.

Then she stopped.

'What's she doing?'

'Who the hell is she? Is she a Phantom?'

'Fuck, I knew those bastards would do something sneaky like this, fucking cowards they are.'

'There's someone,' she said, pointing her finger to the empty space beside the short man-child. 'Sitting on the banister of the stairs. Right there.'

All of the members visibly stiffened.

'How did you -' A white-haired beauty stepped forward, only to be stopped by Cobra, who growled at her in warning.

'Can you not feel her presence?' Lucy asked again, curiosity overtaking her as she went up the stairs to stand next to the spot she was pointing at. She touched the banister lightly and paused.

'Why, hello,' she heard a soft, feminine voice say.

Lucy stiffened for a moment, causing the snake guardian downstairs to tense as well, before relaxing. 'Hello, Miss Vermillion, pleasure to meet you,'

'Interesting,' Mavis said, turning her head to look at the newcomer. The petite ghost smiled before jumping down from the banister she was sitting on. 'It is not often visitors are able to sense my presence. You are a special one, dear child,'

The man beside her gaped at Lucy, his eyes wide open in surprise.

'Y-you can see her?' he questioned, his firm gaze locking onto Lucy's brown eyes.

Not breaking contact with the First Master, the blonde mage shook her head and said, 'No, I can't. But I can sense her. Her soul is a bit hazy, but her presence is strong. I can feel and hear her but I can't get a hold on her feelings. I suppose that's because you have her soul trapped somewhere else?'

Makarov as well as most of the guild members gasped while Mavis' smile grew wider. 'Truly gifted. This one is strong, Makarov. In more ways than one,' The ghost winked.

Lucy blushed at the praise, pleased to have her skills acknowledged by the great Fairy Tactician herself. 'Thank you, Miss Vermillion, it really is an honor to have spoken to you,'

Mavis grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, then turned to Makarov - who was still trying to recover from his shock - and said, 'Well, what are you standing there gaping like a fish? Give the girl her mark for Ishgar's sake!'

The said man coughed and gestured a hand towards his office. 'If you may,' he said to the mysterious blonde. 'Oh, and bring your partner here as well. I have much to say to you...without the presence of prying ears,'

Lucy nodded politely and sent a telepathic message to Cobra. The Guardian followed her into the office seconds after.

Once they were settled down, Makarov's face became serious. 'Who are you, exactly?' he asked, slightly wary of the newcomers. Cobra let out a sigh of exasperation while Lucy answered, 'I'm Lucy Heart -' She caught herself in time and let out a small cough to cover up her slip. 'Sorry, most people just call me Lucy,'

Makarov's eyes instantly narrowed. 'What did you say your last name was, child?'

A deep, resounding hiss was heard from the blonde's partner. But Lucy laid her hand on Cobra's and the hisses became softer. 'My last name is of no importance. I'm just a mage wanting to join your guild along with my best friend, Cobra,' Lucy finished, looking at Makarov with an unyielding, fearless gaze.

'Ha, remember who dragged my ass all the way up here, brat?' Cobra scoffed, causing Lucy's face to heat up in embarrassment. 'Oh shut up, Cobra!' She gritted out, a glare worthy of Erza was aimed at the said man, who only smirked in response.

Makarov smiled at the sight of the couple in front of him. They seemed normal enough...well, as far as the Fairy Tail standard of 'normal' goes. After all, there were already a bunch of people eavesdropping behind the closed door of the office, plus a few others who were screaming about betting money on the new arrivals. _Yep,_ _perfectly normal_.

 _'-_ the one who got me killed by Aquarius!'

'Oh yeah? I remember telling you, _repeatedly_ , that you had to focus more! And did you fucking listen? _Nope_!'

Makarov cleared his throat deliberately, gaining the attention of the bickering mages.

'Well, I suppose last names aren't really important, and the details about your magic and whatnot surely can wait till after the party,' The twin stares of surprise and confusion made him chuckle. Ah, these two would fit just right in. 'What? This is Fairy Tail after all, and we are known for our extravagant celebrations,' He grinned, eliciting a bright smile from the blonde and a subtle upward-twitch of her partner's lips. 'Now, where and what color?'

* * *

'Welcome to Fairy Tail!', greeted the previous fair-headed beauty as Lucy sat on the bar stool facing the kitchen. She tapped her fingers against the counter and smiled brightly albeit a little nervously at the gorgeous barmaid in front of her. 'Um, thanks?' she said, suddenly shy as she reminded herself that it was _the_ Mirajane Strauss of Sorcerer Weekly talking to her. She was also acutely aware of the fact that Cobra had abandoned her in favor of the dark, gloomy corner of the guild hall, leaving her all alone to deal with her first conversation with one of the most famous mages in recent history.

Mirajane shot her a blinding smile, 'So, what's your name?' Lucy relaxed slightly and replied curtly, 'Lucy, and you?' She tried not to slam her head on the polished wooden counter. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Who doesn't know her? _Okay, deep breaths, Lucy, calm down, she's just a mage like you. Yeah, a really,_ really _pretty mage who used to be an S-Class Demon Take-Over Mage who could take down entire fucking buildings without breaking a sweat. Cobra, help!_

The snide laughter from the corner of the building caused the blonde to clench her fists in order to stop herself from breaking the bastard's spine.

'-ello, Lucy? Lucy? Time to get back to Earthland,' Mirajane teased, causing the distracted blonde to flush in embarrassment once again.

'Oh, s-sorry,' she stuttered. 'You were saying?'

Mirajane giggled, 'I'm afraid you missed my wonderful introduction. Anyway, I'm Mirajane Strauss, part-time model of Sorcerer Weekly and resident barmaid of Fairy Tail, but you can call me Mira. Nice to meet you, Lucy!'

Lucy smiled, feeling a bit more comfortable with the gentle white-haired mage. 'It seems like all I've been saying today is 'nice to meet you too',' she joked, getting a bark of laughter from a brunette standing not far behind her.

'This one's interesting, eh, Mira?' The approaching brunette said, causing Lucy to jump as a huge barrel was slammed onto the wooden counter. 'I need a refill, by the way. And none of that fruity shit you gave me last time. Damn, that was nasty as fuck,'

Turning to Lucy, the voluptuous brunette grinned, 'Well, what's your name, hon? Betcha many of those bitches out there have been wanting your name since you first stepped foot into the guild,'

Lucy blinked, a bit taken aback by the brunette's straight-forward attitude. 'Lucy,' she said, hoping that the woman wouldn't pry for her last name. Thankfully, she didn't seem to take note of the blonde's nervousness.

'Cana Alberona. Card Mage of Fairy Tail,' Lucy smiled. A holder mage as well. Good. She could probably have a nice spar with this woman, judging by her magic reserves. However, something felt rather...off about Cana's soul. Being a Celestial Mage, Lucy was always in tune with spirits. And although she couldn't read souls as good as Cobra, she could sense people's presence from a certain distance and that itself was an accomplishment for her, considering how her strength relies much on her connection with spirits and realms.

 _(Celestial Magic is the strongest medium for spirits from other realms to pass through, exceeding other Holder Type magics, since a Celestial Mage had to not only power their spirits' attacks but also maintain the spirit's gate to Earthland during the duration of the fight. Unfortunately, this was also the reason why Celestial Mages - who actually have remarkable magic reserves - to be seen as weak, because most of their magical energy is being used by their spirits, thus leaving the mages vulnerable. Therefore, Mildean's spells were a ground-breaking invention as they provided Celestial Mages with the ability to protect themselves if they were left without their keys.)_

'-ucy! Lulu! You in there?' Cana called out, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts. Lucy sighed, she can't believe she could still recite an entire paragraph from her mother's books on Celestial Magic after, what, six years? Giving the confused Card Mage a small smile as she stood up, she apologized, 'I'm sorry, but you'll have to excuse me for now. I'm afraid I have some business to attend to seeing how I have not secured a place to stay yet,'

She glanced discreetly at Cobra, who was already on his feet and moving towards the guild doors after hearing her. Lucy turned to look at Cana and Mira once more before bidding goodbye again. She didn't catch their amused smiles as she jogged to catch up with her spirit.

The moment the two of them were out of sight, the previously silent guild erupted into excited chatters and rumors about the new members were already flying around the hall.

'Those two are certainly mysterious, aren't they?', mused Cana as she downed another barrel of beer at the counter. 'That Lucy girl didn't even tell us much about herself before she hauled her ass after that yummy partner of hers,'

Mira giggled and continued to polish the already sparkling-clean glasses. 'She didn't seem to realize that the entire guild was eavesdropping on our conversation,' continued the brunette, somewhat conflicted about the blonde mage, before shaking her head and gulping down her drink. Mira inspected her glass she was polishing and said, 'I don't think so,' Cana glanced sideways at the barmaid skeptically. 'She seemed lively enough when she came in with that guy this morning, so what do you think made her so quiet and tense when it came to matters concerning her name and magic?'

Cana burst out laughing, causing Mira to pout. 'I think you're looking too much into it,' she said, wiping the tears that leaked from her eyes from her laughing fit. 'I also think you're jealous that Laxus was staring at Blondie a bit too long when she came in,' Cana piped, a sly smile growing on her face as she watched Mira turn red and splutter indignantly that she doesn't care what that lightning freak does.

'Chill, Mira, I think it's pretty obvious that she's already taken, what with the hisses coming from Mr Tall-Dark-and-Handsome,' Cana winked. 'You'd think he was _jealous_ over something,' she drawled, a smirk on her face.

Mira unconsciously let out a sigh of relief - causing Cana to let out another bark of laughter - before changing the subject. 'Well, there's no doubt that they'll be in a big surprise when Natsu comes back from his mission with Happy,' the part-time model said.

'Yeah, I can already imagine what that buffoon's gonna yell when he's back,' the brunette said, an exasperated frown on her face as she pictured the reactions of the new members. If the maroon-haired hunk really was Lucy's significant other, things will not go down well when that idiot comes back.

As Cana grabbed her new barrel of beer from Mira, she noticed a small spark in Mira's eyes which hadn't been there before Lucy's arrival. 'Fuck,' she muttered. _That's not good._ That was Mira's 'Cupid Look', the look that promised months of love potions, hours of being stuck screaming in a closet and tons and tons of suffering. Romeo still had scars from his last 'play-date' and he was freaking four!

Cana sneaked another glance at Mira and confirmed her initial hypothesis. The matchmaking demon was ten seconds from asking poor Reedus to draw up dozens of elaborate pictures of Lucy with her partner, Natsu and every other decent-looking guy in the guild in the search of her new 'ship', whatever that meant.

Oh, how Cana prayed for Lucy's poor soul.

* * *

'Something's up with you,' Lucy whispered to Cobra, as she licked her strawberry ice cream. He ignored her, opting to watch the children who were playing hide-and-seek in the park. _Fucking blind goblins. He's right behind that tree, you moronic twat!_

'Cobra,' Lucy said, turning her head to look at her Guardian who was still studiously ignoring her. Lucy fumed, knowing very well that he could hear her. Then she deflated almost instantly, already guessing why he was mad at her. 'I know you're angry at me for forcing you to join Fairy Tail,' she began, her eyes downcast. 'And I know I wasn't being fair to you. I'm sorry for doing that,'

Cobra continued to look away from her. Lucy felt a painful tug at her heart.

'I'm really sorry, okay? I know it was wrong of me to treat you like that and I won't do that again. I promise! I just - really wanted to give you a chance at a real life; to show you what...' she hesitated, her voice suddenly melancholic. '...what a family feels like,'

'It's not you,' he growled. Lucy's head snapped up in surprise. 'Wha-'

Cobra's dark, amethyst eyes bore into her soul and she gasped as she felt his pain through their bond. 'C-Cobra - '

Lucy felt a chill run through her as she saw the conflict and anger in his beautiful eyes. He was telling the truth. He wasn't angry at her...no, he wasn't angry at all. So what was it -

'I felt her presence,' he said, his fist clenching and unclenching. His defined jaw was tense and Lucy gently laid her hand on his right knee, rubbing small circles to comfort him, just like she always did when he was on the verge of breaking down.

Cobra let out a shaky breath as he felt Lucy's warm, familiar fingers on his knee. He never knew what comfort and love was until he met Cubellious. So when she was taken away, he was reintroduced to pain and rage and hatred. He only needed to kill one more Master and he would have Cubellious and all his memories back. Once he was free of his 'duties' as a Guardian, he could find Cubellious and bring her back somehow. He was strong, he had no doubt he could do it. The Great Lion had done it twice, sacrificing himself for his beloved Ram, so why not him?

But Lucy came and suddenly he was reminded of how sweet, how nice, how good love felt. It was like Cubellious all over again. And he knew he could never hurt her, much less kill his Master. Now, looking into Lucy's brown eyes, he could feel her gravity pulling him towards her again. He remembered how close he was to falling, but he could feel himself pulling back.

A small anchor was holding him back. An anchor with beautiful, rich violet scales and emerald green eyes. If he was the King of Cobras in the Celestial Realm, she was his Queen of Vipers.

The name had been buried deep into the recesses of his soul, but today, he heard a whisper of her soul in his head when Lucy was talking to the barmaid. The smallest hint of her presence was there, residing in the memories of the white-haired mage.

'She was here,' he whispered to Lucy. 'Cubellious was here,'

Lucy's eyes widened and she gasped, a brilliant smile growing on her face. 'This is wonderful! Did you talk to her -'

'No, she's gone now,' he hissed, a spine-chilling sound that felt like the kiss of death.

' _They took her away from me_ ,'

* * *

Whoop whoop! There's the cliffhanger I've been wanting to put in this story since I started it! But don't worry, there's more. ;) So, how was it? Please leave a review to let me know. Reviews are love, and I can't get enough of them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! *throws glitter*


	6. AUTHOR'S NOTE

*5/3/2017*

ANNOUNCEMENT - I will be taking a short term hiatus for all my stories from today onward, 'cause I'm having my exams and I'll be leaving for a conference in S'pore soon. And after that, there's debate comps and camps and club meetings that I have to organise and I'm running myself ragged with all the things I have to deal with.

I am super sorry for making you guys wait so long for my updates, but I love you all even more for being patient and for bearing with me and my messed up priorities. 3

I may post a few drabbles or one-shots when I feel a sudden burst of inspiration. You guys won't kill me in my sleep for making you wait, right? RIGHT?


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